Show us your course introduction!

In the System Administrators community, we've had Show us your course template! and Show us your semester kick off announcement! We can't let them have all the fun, so I'd like to see how members of the teaching and learning community introduce their courses at the start of the semester.

In addition to being my college's instructional designer and Blackboard administrator, I also teach three online courses. I start each course with a welcome video, going over the content of the course, the work required, and how to succeed in the course. It's a brief overview of what is contained in the course syllabus and outline, and designed to hit the high points of those documents. I embed it in the first announcement of the semester, so it is the first thing they see when they log in.

Here is the video from my Descriptive Astronomy course:

How do you set the stage for your course? What do you think students need to know at the very beginning? How do you get them engaged from the start?

We have several versions of a course tour depending on the college and course. This is one of the samples that we have Learn on Demand Course Tour - YouTube. In addition to the course tour, each student has a Start Here page that takes them through an orientation to the online learning format, checks plug-ins, etc. After viewing this information, a welcome letter, and syllabus before the student is allowed to access any content they take a syllabus quiz.

My biggest problem is we have no standards for course presentation. Every time we try to set standards, we get push back from the faculty union...for a variety of reasons. We are the proces of defining standards again based on accreditation requirements, so we will see what happens.

I work with many faulty members who are hesitant to show their faces in an introductory video. I am not sure why being seen on video is any more intimidating that seeing one in person.

I elect to show my face in my introduction to my students, as I feel this is the first moment they enter my learning space and begin to have a "feel" for what the class will be like. I try to come across as a friendly and approachable instructor who cares about the success of her students.

Here is one of my simple introductions for my Online Teacher Certification course that I designed and facilitate.

Nice course intro, Dena. Have you ever solicited feedback from course participants about its contents, etc.? Also, it's seven minutes long. Ever consider shortening it to five-six minutes, which seems to be the sweet spot for videos and engagement.

Also, some faculty members might feel intimidated by having their intro videos available to the world on YouTube. It's not the same thing as introducing the course in person, even to a large lecture hall of students.

I certainly agree with you that it is no substitution for a live introduction. Ironically after listening to feedback from participants I am now offering a live introduction to the course using Collaborate Ultra. I record the session for those who are unable to attend the live meeting.

For me this has added to the development of the learning community in a more meaningful way than a simple recording.

Regarding YouTube my YouTube videos are not published and only those with whom I share the link can access my videos, so I consider them somewhat private.

Thanks for the feedback. I am always working on course improvement based on learner feedback!